Half Moon Bay: Still no sign of man who disappeared at beach

HALF MOON BAY -- There was still no sign Monday of the 22-year-old Half Moon Bay man who went missing Sunday while playing ball with friends at Roosevelt Beach.

Carlos Javier Lopez walked into the water as he and his friends prepared to leave around 2:45 p.m. Sunday and has not been seen since. After finding no trace of Lopez, the Coast Guard gave up the search around about 7:50 p.m. Sunday, Coast Guard Officer Mark Leahey said.

It appears Lopez and his friends were playing soccer or football on the beach, which sits to the south of Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay. A witness saw Lopez go into the water, perhaps to swim or rinse off, and then sometime after that his friends noticed him missing.

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and Harbormaster launched a search and were joined by a Coast Guard helicopter and boat. No trace of the missing man turned up.

Leahey said the waves are dangerous even on a calm day and can drag swimmers away from the beach.

"It seems like a freak thing, but it does happen more often than it should," he said.

A father and son drowned in December after being pulled into the water by waves at the Marin Headlands. A Richmond man drowned off Point Reyes New Year's Day trying to help his wife and dog when they were knocked down by waves.